Allocation round 7a of the Contracts for Difference support scheme represents the highest number of individual projects and largest capacity awarded to solar PV projects in the UK since the scheme began.
February 10, 2026
The UK government has awarded Contracts for Difference to 4.9GW of solar PV, securing income for a record number of solar projects.
Allocation round 7a (AR7a) of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) support scheme represented the highest number of individual projects (155) and largest capacity awarded to solar PV projects in the UK since the CfD scheme began.
The strike price for solar reached at auction was £65.23/MWh, over 10% cheaper than the last allocation round, AR6, when the previous record for solar capacity awarded was set. AR6 awarded 3.3GW of solar across 93 projects. We are reporting based on total export capacities, not peak.
Of 155 PV projects secured in AR7a, 12 were in Wales and 11 in Scotland.
Projects that received CfDs include Island Green Power’s Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) West Burton, approved at the start of 2025, awarded 480MW total across three contracts.
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Last week, at an event hosted by Solar Power Portal’s publisher Solar Media, IGP’s CEO Bob Psaradellis called the CfD the “gold standard” for investment opportunities.
Notably, West Burton was the only NSIP to be awarded. Josh Cornes, analyst at Solar Media Market Research, said: “With this being the highest capacity allocated in a single CfD round, it was a surprise to see only one NSIP be awarded, with seven having been eligible. Whether this is due to several of those eligible projects being up for sale is yet to be seen.
“Two NSIPs were awarded contracts in AR6, Little Crow and Longfield, and there was an expectation that at least two would also have been awarded in 2026,” he added.
Also in receipt of contracts are Bicker Fen, energised March 2024, Lark Hill solar, energised 2024, and three of eight projects acquired by TotalEnergies in June last year: Cobwood, Bluebell Wood, and East End.
Using 2024-benchmarked prices, the solar strike price was £64.09/MWh in AR4, £65.49/MWh in AR5, and £72.92/MWh in AR6. Bertalan Gyenes, consultant at LCP Delta, said that the notably lower strike price this round indicates that the capital cost reductions of the past year are feeding through to the CfD.
In AR4, 67 projects totalled 2.2GW, in AR5, 56 projects totalled 1.9GW, and in AR6, 93 projects totalled 3.3GW.
Cornes noted that “possibly the most surprising thing” about AR7a’s results was that average capacity per project was only 31.6MW, “the lowest seen in any allocation round previously”.
Source: Solar Media Market Research.
Prior to these results, it had been increasing steadily with AR6 having an average capacity of 35.3MW, Cornes said.
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An in-depth analysis of the results and breakdown of which developers have received contracts, using Solar Media Market Research analysis, will be published on Solar Power Portal tomorrow.
UK energy secretary Ed Miliband said the results of AR7a show “once again” that clean power is the “right choice”. He noted that, according to figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the price for new onshore wind and solar “is over 50% cheaper than the cost of building and operating new gas”.
The strike price for onshore wind, also included in the AR7a auction, was £72.24/MWh, while DESNZ put £147/MWh as the cost of building and operating new gas power stations.
Meanwhile, trade association Solar Energy UK estimated that this auction round will contribute £370 million to the UK’s economy as gross value added.
Chief executive of Solar Energy UK Chris Hewett called the results a “milestone for the solar sector”, and “proof positive that [solar PV] provides the cheapest power available”.
According to energy consultancy the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), this auction round coupled with the offshore wind round (AR7, results of which were announced on 14 January) will reduce UK gas imports by over 80TWh annually.
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It also said that by 2030, when the final projects awarded in AR7 and AR7a come online, projects secured in this auction will provide around 10% of the UK’s generation.
However, as pointed out by Lucy Dolton, renewable generation lead at energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, delivering on the projects’ timelines will be a challenge.
“Historically, renewable projects in the UK have faced delays often due to grid connection backlogs and planning holdups. With AR7 and some of AR8 representing the only realistic pipeline for pre-2030 capacity, keeping to schedule will be essential.
“AR7 is a step forward, but its impact will depend on the UK’s ability to deliver these projects on time, get the grid ready, and build the storage to support them.”
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Molly Green
Senior Reporter, Informa
Molly joined the team in 2024 and has led coverage on the UK sites. Now shifting to a more global view, Molly is interested in how legislation shapes market dynamics, covering the intersection of policy design, investment patterns, and energy transition pathways.
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